Photographic recording machine



June 7, 1932.. R. s. HOPKlNS PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. -18, 1929 June 7, 1932. R. s. HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 18. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 En Ne.

a y i Iii/5 l 11:13 5. Hi:

w i E a M I A 3 ll 3 a? Q 2 Mia J 1932- R. s. HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING CHINE Filed Sept. 18 1929 a Sheets-Sheet 3 I U H a Q H particularly Patented June 7, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROY S. HOPKINS, QF ROCHESTER, NEW YO PAN Y, Q]? ROCHESTER, NEW YOR PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING MACHINE Application filed September 18, 1929. Serial No. 303,427.

This invention relates to photography and more particularly to photo raphic machines for recording documents. ne object of my invention is to provide a photographic rccording machine with mechanism ada ted to position a document to be recorde with mechanism for photographing the document so positioned, with a power drive for the moving mechanism and with a control memher for the power drive located adjacent the path of documents being moved to the machine for causing all the parts to function. Another object of my invention is to provide a convenient release to operate the recording mechanism through a single cycle. Another object of my invention is to provide a document directing means with a trip which controls the operation of the various parts of the recording machine. Still another object of my invention is to provide a chute-like entrance to the recording machine, this chute being provided with a movable part which serves as a trip for the power operated mechanism, so that in moving a document towards the machine the trip can be readily actuated, and other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

In my copending patent application, Serial N 0. 329,143, filed December 29, 1928, for document conveying and photographing machine, there is shown an entirely automatic machine for recording documents. Parts of the present machine are quite similar to parts of the machine shown in this application, and, for the general structure of the cabinet. refcrence may he had to this application.

Coming now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout.

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevation, partl v in section, showing a power operated mechanism and clutch illustrating a preferred form and covering one embodiment of my p resent invcnti on. i

Fig. 2 is a section on line Q-2 of 1 through the clutch and associated mechanism.

Fig. I} is a siilr elevation of the clutch.

Fig. 4 is ill! enlarged fragmentary detail of the clutch-tripping latch in one position.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the clutch-tripping latch in a different shown in Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the clutch .ca-nl.

The mechanism shown in Fig. 1 is adapted to be enclosed in a cabinet of any desired type such as that shown in art in Fig. 1 in my copending application a ove referred to. Since the cabinet forms no part of the present in- "ention, it is not herein shown.

The document pl'iotographing machine coir sists broadly of a conveyor 1 by which docu' ments are moved'into position to he phoiographed by a camera 2, the documents being directed to the conveyor through a ch ute-like opening 3. There is a power drive includ ing a motor 4 and a constantly rotating wheel 5 from which can be intermittently driven through the kick-out clutch 6, the camera 2 and the conveyor 1 as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The conveyor, as indicated in Fig. 1. may consist of an endless belt 7 passing about a pair of rollers 8 and 9, the latter roller being connected to a gear 10 meshing with a gear segment 11 which may be oscillated upon a stud 12 by means of the crank 13 which is pivotally atinclnni at; i l to the gear segment and pivotally attached at 15 to the clutch plate 16,:1sl1cstshown i n Fig. 3.

In order to hold documents against the belt 7 a plurality of fine wires 1? are passed about the rollers 18 and 19. These rollers may move but the wires 17 do notinovu, being attached to fixed parts of the machine.

Between the roller 9 and the gear 10 there is a shaft 20 upon which a. one-way clutch is mounted, this clutch beingadnpted to drive roller 9 when the gear is turned in the direction shown by the arrow and luring adapted to permit the roller to rcnmin idle when the gear segment 11 is moved in an opposite direction. Thus the conveyor is intcrmittent- I moved as the crank 13 II'IOYLS a singlestroke hack and forth.

In order to direct documents to he photo graphed to the conveyor, there is a chain like receptacle 3 having a pair ct -cqn =rging posit-ion from that walls 22 and 23 the former being preferably the position shown in Fig. 1 a spring 32 encircles rod 29 and lies between the bearing 30 and a pair of lock nuts 33. This normally holds the parts in the position shown but slight pressure applied to member 23 moves the rod 29 against spring ressure to trip the clutch, as will be hereina 1' more fully described.

The movable member 23 may either be a part of the chute or it may be a strip movably mounted in the slot, the essential feature being that there is a movable member formin a clutch trip lying in or adjacent to the pat of a document being passed to the machine. As will ap or obvious in moving a document towards t e conveyor, the fingers of the operator will naturally strike the clutch trip 23 and thus cause the various parts of the machine to function.

The mechanism of the clutch will now be described. Referring particularly to Fi 2 and 3, the wheel 5 is constantly rotated the motor 4 upon thesleeve shaft 34, bal bearings ermitting-the wheel to turn freely.

The w eel carries a clutch face 36 which- .nulargroove 37 adapted to engage the friction material 36 when the surfaces of the groove come in contact with the friction material.

Clutch plate 16 is carried upon a shaft 38 I which may move a limited distance back and' forth through the sleeve shaft 34 in the following manner. Shaft 38 has an enlar ed end 39-carrying a sprocket 40 and a cam p ate 41, a spring 42 lies between a shoulder 43 of the sleeve shaft 34 and a shoulder 44 on a part of the support 56, this spring tending to thrust shaft 38 in the direction shown by the arrow. That is, in the direction to force the annular groove 37 into engagement with the friction material 36.

The cam plate 41 controls the position of the shaft 38 and consequently the engagement of the two clutch faces. This cam plate, as best shown in Fig. 6, comprises an annular plate 45 on which may be cut or formed a pair of cam surfaces 46 and 47. It should be noted that these two cam surfaces are not i which the 0 spaced equally from the central-opening 48 of the cam plate and that they are arranged so that when rollers 48 and 49, which are carried by the rocker arm arranged unsymmetrically with res to the opening 48, bear on the plate, t ey will simultaneously engage the cams 46 and 47. This is best shown in F g. 4 where both rollers 48 and 49 are shown 1!]. engagement with the cam surfaces 46 and 47.

The reason for having the rollers and cams positioned as shown in these figures is that the rocker arm 50 will have an even pressure on the disc 41 due to the fact that the two rollers engage the two cams located on both sides of the annular plate, so that there will not b3 1:. twistin action which might be cause a sin e to er engaging one side of the caln plate only.

As above described this clutch is of the k1ck-out type. That is to say, when the clutch is tripped, the clutch plate 16 will engage the friction material 36 and the parts will turn together for one revolution, after utch will automatically throw out until a second actuation of the tripping means. This is accomplished in the followmg manner.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, the rollers 48 of the rocker arm 50 control the movement pf the clutch through engagement with the cam disc. The rocker arm 50 is pivctally mounted upon a rounded protuberance 51 having a central aperture throu h which the stud 52 passes. It will be note that the head .of this stud is rounded so that for a limited movement this connection forms a type of ball and socket joint permitting a rocking movement of the arm 50. A spring 54 bearing on a washer 55 tends to hold the parts in frictional enga ment. Stud 52 engages the support 56 w ich is attached to a relatively fixed part of the machine. The support 56 also carries a stud 57 on which is pivotally mounted a sprocket 58 carrying an eccentric arm 59. Support 56 carries still another stud 60 having a head 61 limiting the outward movement of the rocker arm 50 and spring 62 thrusts outwardly on the rocker arm in the direction shown by the arrow. On the top of support 56 there is an ofiset 63 carrying a stud 64 on which a latch 65 is mounted, this latch being best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A spring 64S encircles stud. 65 as best shown in Fi 2, this spring'tending to turn the latch in t e direction shown by the arrows (Figs. 4 and 5) about the stud so that the operative end 66 of the latch will be normally held in engagement with the cooperating part 67 of the rocker arm. By preventing movement of the rocker arm 50 about the pivotal support 52 in the direction shown by the arrow in Fi 2, the wheels 48 will be retained in a fixe position and when these wheels come into engagement with the cam surfaces 46 and 47 the clutch plate 16 will be thrust from engagement with the friction material 36.

However, when the rod 29 is actuated by an operator touching the slantin member 23 in directing a document toward t e conveyor, the plunger 29 will strike the end of the latch member 65 and turn it against the pressure of spring 64S permitting the rocker arm to move from the position shown in Fig. 4 to.

the position shown in Fi 5, in which position the pressure ofthe whee s 49 and 50 upon the cams 46 and 47 is relieved of the shaft 38 will move in the direction shown by the arrow (Fig. 2) causing the clutch faces to come into driving engagement.

Pressure on the trip 23 having been released, the latch will return to its normal position where it will engage the rocker arm 56 and hold it in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4. As shaft 38 continues to move under the impulse of the power drive, the cam surfaces 46 and 47 wii again engage the wheels 48 and 49 which are now held in a fixed osition by the latch, so that as the wheels ri e on the cam surfaces, shaft 38 will be again thrust out of driving engagement with the clutch. It will thus be seen that the clutch trip 23 controls the power drive for the conveyor.

It likewise controls the wer drive for the camera since the camera is operated from the eccentric 59 through a crank as best shown in Fig. 1, the crank 80 being pivotally attached at 81 to a rocker 82 which 0 rates the mechanism of the camera 2. T is rocker arm causes the pulldown mechanism 83 to move a fresh area of film in the lace behind the objective 84, and cause the s utter 88 to make an exposure. The details of the camera construction will not be more fully described since they form no part of the present invention.

It should be noticed that eccentric 59 is driven by the s rocket 58 throu h a chain driven from t e sprocket 40. the present embodiment of my invention the relation of sprockets 40 and 58 is two to one. That is to say, each time sprocket 40 turns two revolutions, sprocket 58 turns a single revolution. This is because the present embodiment of my machine is so arranged that the conveyor moves two cycles for each sin 1e picture which is taken as I prefer to form t e images of two documents on a single frame of film. This, however, is not material to the present invention, it being only necessary that the camera mechanism and the conveyor mechanism both be controlled through a single clutch trip, so that the operation of photographing the documents consists of merely touching the clutch-releasing lever as the documents are placed into the chute through which they are guided to the conveyor.

While this machine is particularly designed for photographing checks, it is also equally suitable ior rlocuments of a size which can be by the mechanism. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a photographic recordin device, the combination with movable mec anism for positioning documents, of a document conveyor, means for directing documents to said conveyor including a smooth walled chute,

2. In a photographic recordin device, the' combination with movable mec anism for positioning documents, of a document conveyor, means for directing documents to said conveyor including a smooth walled chute, front side and rear walls included in the chute, said rear wall pro'ecting above the front wall, at least two 0 which walls are inclined toward each other to form a narrow opening to direct documents to a conveyor, the rear wall being movably mounted, a stop for limiting the movement of the movably mounted wall so that said wall with said other inclined wall will form a relatively narrow opening to direct prints to said document conveyor in either of two possible positions,

a power drive for the document conveyor,

a control mechanism for'said power drive, and connections between said control mechanism and said movable wall of said chute to operate the document conveyor.

3. Ir a photo aphic recordin device, the combination with movable mec anism for positioning documents, of a document conveyor, means for directing documents to said conveyor including a smooth walled chute, said chute including a front wall, a rear wall higher than said front wall, side walls closing the ends of the front and rear walls, the rear wall being movably mounted with respect to the other walls, a power drive for the conve or includin a continuously rotating mem er a second member adapted to be engaged by and rotated with the rotating member, a. clutch for driving the second member from the rotating member, and a clutch actuating mechanism opcrably connected to the movable chute wail whereby movement of the wall may actuate the clutch for driving the conveyor from the continuously rotating member.

4. In a photographic recording device, the

ing, said back wall bein combination with movable mechanism for positionin documents, of an endless belt conveyor or moving the documents, a chute for directin documents toward said conveyor, said c lute comprisin front and back walls which converge towar a narrow openhigher than the front wall, side Walls w ich substantially close the openings at the ends of the front and back walls, the back chute well being hingedly mounted and adapted when swung about its hinge to vary the size of the opening between the walls, a constantly rotated power drive, a driven element connected to the endless belt, a clutch for moving the endless belt from the constantly rotated power drive, a clutch trip member operably connected to the hinged chute wall whereby movement of said wall may actuate the clutch and drive the document conveyor.

Signed at Rochester, New York, this 13th day of September, 1929.

" ROY S. HOPKINS. 

